Unlocking American Psychological Association Style: An Educational Escape Room to Enhance Citation Skills and Student Confidence Through Gamified Learning

Background Gamified learning, specifically escape rooms, may help students improve their knowledge and execution of American Psychological Association (APA) Style. Objective We developed and evaluated an APA-themed escape room to help students learn about in-text citations and reference pages, model APA conventions, and promote the importance of paying attention to details and following directions through an enjoyable, competitive experience. Method Psychology majors and nursing students completed pre- and post-game surveys assessing demographics, perceived APA competence, and APA knowledge, with additional post-game questions evaluating their experience participating in the escape room activity. Results Students significantly improved their APA citation knowledge and confidence after participating, with greater gains observed in psychology students, in reference-formatting questions, and among students with lower initial confidence. Overall, participants rated the experience highly and were more likely to recommend it if they started with lower APA knowledge and confidence. Conclusion Gamified learning, especially through an educational escape room, can improve students’ APA citation skills and boost confidence, particularly among those with less confidence and limited prior knowledge. Teaching Implications This proof-of-concept study may encourage instructors to incorporate educational escape rooms as an interactive teaching strategy to enhance student engagement and support learning of complex skills like APA Style.